Odontembia Davis, 1939

Miller, Kelly B., 2008, Review of the genus Odontembia Davis, 1939 (Embioptera: Embiidae) with description of a new species, Zootaxa 1723, pp. 63-68 : 64-65

Odontembia Davis, 1939

Odontembia Davis, 1939 ; Davis, 1940; Szumik, 2004.

Type species: Odontembia spinosa (Navás, 1931) , by original designation.

Diagnosis: Odontembia are in the family Embiidae based on the following character combination: 1) male mandibles dentate, 2) tergite X entirely divided medially, 3) LC1 echinulate medially, 4) vein MA forked (into veins MA1+2 and MA3+4 according to Ross (2000), but not forked in some Embiidae ), and 5) mandibles not depressed, with molar and incisive regions not clearly delimited (this last distinguishing Embiidae from Archembiidae (Szumik, 2004)) . The genus Odontembia is defined as Embiidae with the following character combination: 1) vein MA forked in meso- and metathoracic wings with branches of fork as long as stem (Figs 5,6; 12,13), 2) medial lobes of basal segment of left cercus (LC I) with two prominent lobes and numerous large, acute teeth (Figs 2,3; 8,9), 3) medial portion of right basipodite produced posteriorly (Figs 2,3; 8,9), 4) process of left hemitergite bifid or broadly truncate (Figs 2–4; 8–11), and 5) hind basitarsus with two ventral papillae.

Odontembia is similar to Metembia , some Pseudembia , Donaconethis and, at least some species of Dihybocercus in having two medial lobes on the basal segment of the left male cercus, one basal and one apical, often with prominent dentition. In Odontembia , like the Indian Metembia and Pseudembia , vein MA is forked, and there are two ventral papillae on hind basitarsus. The genus differs from them in having the process of the left hemitergite bifid or broadly truncate instead of simple. From Donaconethis the genus differs in having a single ventral papilla on hind basitarsus. From Dihybocercus it differs in having vein CuA with two branches (Figs 5, 6, 12, 13) and with smaller and less conspicuous teeth on LC I.

Distribution and taxon content: This genus currently includes two Afrotropical species, O. jacobi n. sp. from Ghana and O. spinosa from the Congo.

Discussion: The validity of this genus as a natural group, as with many Embioptera genera, is debatable and untested. There are numerous other genera of Embiidae (and, perhaps, Archembiidae ) that are similar in wing venation and the shape of structures in the male genitalia, characters on which these taxa are based. The new species described here and O. spinosa share the characters defining the genus, but they are not particularly similar in other features suggesting that it would be best to test these characters, and those defining other similar genera, in a greater cladistic analysis including new character systems.

In the only cladistic analysis to include Odontembia, Szumik (2004) found the genus to be sister to the clade Metembia + Pseudembia . According to the character optimization shown on the tree, this grouping is based on features of the “basal node” on LC1 (a complex character, 45 in her analysis (Szumik, 2004)). Metembia and Pseudembia are coded as having the lobe present, bearing setae, and oriented dorsad (Character 45, State 3) with Odontembia coded as having the lobe present, bearing setae, and oriented ventrad (Character 45, State 4). The orientation of this lobe may have been assessed incorrectly by Szumik (2004) (see Discussion below under Odontembia spinosa ), but this, by itself, may not have affected the result that Odontembia , Metembia and Pseudembia are closely related at least relative to other taxa in her analysis. That analysis was not designed to examine comprehensively the relationships among Embiidae , and future analyses including several other related genera in Embiidae will be required to more definitively place Odontembia with respect to other genera in the family.